The 2021-22 high school basketball regular season does not come to an official close until Feb. 12. But Region 7-3A will get an early jump on the rest of the area and state when it finishes its regular-season action on Friday.
Which means there will be plenty of crucial games as teams jockey for position and automatic berths into the state tournament on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
Cherokee Bluff will play host to the Region 7-3A semifinals and finals on Feb. 12 and 15. The first-round games will take place at the No. 5 seeds on Feb. 8. Second-round action will be on Feb. 10 at the home of the No. 3 seeds.
First-round action will have the Nos. 5 and 8 seeds and the Nos. 6 and 7 seeds playing elimination games. The winners advance to the second round, with the No. 4 seed playing the 5-8 winner and the No. 3 seed taking on the 6-7 winner. The winners in the second round advance to the semifinals and qualify for the state tournament.
On the girls side, Class 3A No. 1-ranked Lumpkin County (21-1, 12-0 Region 7-3A) already has clinched the top seed. The Lady Indians close out their schedule against West Hall and White County.
After that, it is wide open for the other automatic bid. White County (13-8, 9-3 Region 7-3A) sits in second but is just one game ahead of East Forsyth (16-6, 8-4 Region 7-3A) with a surging North Hall group (16-7, 7-5 Region 7-3A) two games back.
And all three teams play each other this week. White County travels to East Forsyth and can wrap up the No. 2 seed with a win. That will be a huge game for the Lady Warriors, who close out the regular season on the road on Thursday against Lumpkin County.
"It's going to be a very tough task against a solid East Forsyth team," White County coach Jarvis Davenport said. "This region is so competitive that night-in and night-out you must play at your best to win. Throughout the course of the season, more often than not thus far, we've done that. Now we have an opportunity to reap the benefits of that hard work if we can get a tough road win tonight (Tuesday)."
Meanwhile, North Hall hits the road against struggling Gilmer (8-16, 2-10 Region 7-3A) on Tuesday and plays host to East Forsyth on Friday. The Lady Broncos can clinch second outright if they win out and White County loses both games. The Lady Trojans can force a three-way tiebreaker for second if they can win out and White County drops both games.
Dawson County (13-9, 6-6 Region 7-3A) is just a game back of North Hall in fifth and plays host to both Cherokee Bluff and West Hall this week. The Lady Tigers are still in line for fourth but would need some help.
On the boys side, White County (15-7, 11-1 Region 7-3A) has clinched a playoff spot and leads North Hall (19-4, 10-2 Region 7-3A) by just a game for the top spot. But the Warriors swept the Trojans during the regular season and can clinch the No. 1 seed with a win over East Forsyth (7-16, 3-9 Region 7-3A) on Tuesday or a win over Lumpkin County (7-15, 4-8 Region 7-3A) on Thursday.
North Hall can clinch an automatic berth with a win over third-place Gilmer (17-7, 8-4 Region 7-3A) on Tuesday or a win over East Forsyth on Friday. The Trojans can still grab the No. 1 seed if they win out and White County drops its last two games.
North Hall coach Miles Kendall said they are trying not to put too much importance on any one game, but also know what's at stake.
"We are not taking anyone lightly, but also we tend to put too much pressure on a single game," Kendall said. "Gilmer is always a tough matchup and going up there is never easy. Gilmer is big and we must match their toughness to have a shot.
"We did well the first time through the region, and teams are adjusting to us. We're just telling our guys to go play team basketball, and that will be good enough."
However, the Bobcats can force a tiebreaker for second if they win out and North Hall drops both of its remaining games.
TUESDAY'S REGION 7-3A BASKETBALL SCHEDULE, Feb. 1
(All games begin at 6 p.m. with girls unless otherwise noted)
Cherokee Bluff at Dawson County*
West Hall at Lumpkin County*
White County at East Forsyth*
North Hall at Gilmer*
THURSDAY'S REGION 7-3A BASKETBALL SCHEDULE, Feb. 3
(All games begin at 6 p.m. with girls unless otherwise noted)
White County at Lumpkin County*
FRIDAY'S REGION 7-3A BASKETBALL SCHEDULE, Feb. 4
(All games begin at 7 p.m. with girls unless otherwise noted)
(End of regular season for Region 7-3A)
East Forsyth at North Hall, 6 p.m.*
Gilmer at Cherokee Bluff*
West Hall at Dawson County, 6 p.m.*
(* -- denotes region contest)
